NEC MEETING UPDATE: ASUP Threatens Strike, Gives FG 21-Day Ultimatum Over Unmet Demands

Fresh crisis may soon disrupt academic activities in Nigerian polytechnics as the Academic Staff Union of Polytechnics (ASUP) has issued a 21-day ultimatum to the Federal Government to resolve several long-standing issues affecting staff welfare.

Speaking after an emergency National Executive Council (NEC) meeting in Abuja, ASUP President, Shammah Kpanja, accused the government of neglecting critical agreements and failing to address the financial and professional concerns of polytechnic lecturers.

Unmet Demands and Pending Arrears

Kpanja highlighted the government’s failure to release a circular for the payment of the Peculiar Academic Allowance, a key component of the ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement. He lamented that instead of providing funds for the allowance, it was removed from the budget template, with the Federal Ministry of Education (FME) allegedly refusing to intervene.

The union also expressed anger over the non-payment of the 25% and 35% salary review arrears, which cover a 12-month period despite being captured in the national budget.

At the state level, ASUP noted that many polytechnic staff are yet to benefit from the N70,000 national minimum wage, as several state governments continue to delay implementation.

Discrimination Against HND Holders

Kpanja further condemned what he described as continued discrimination against Higher National Diploma (HND) holders, blaming the government for failing to approve a dual mandate structure that would eliminate the long-standing bias against polytechnic graduates.

“The delay in approving the dual mandate policy continues to encourage discrimination against polytechnic education and its products,” he said.

Other Pending Issues

The union also listed several other grievances, including:

• Non-release of the second phase of the NEEDS Assessment intervention
• Outsourcing of quality assurance in polytechnics, which ASUP described as unethical and detrimental to the sector
• Failure to implement sector-specific components of the FME roadmap, particularly the establishment of a dedicated commission for polytechnics
• Non-payment of promotion arrears in many state-owned institutions, some dating back to 2019
• Lack of progress on the renegotiation of the ASUP/FGN 2010 agreement
• Continued delay in the release of CONTISS 15 arrears since 2014

Strike Threat Looms

Kpanja warned that unless the government acts within the 21-day ultimatum, ASUP may declare a trade dispute and commence a nationwide strike, shutting down academic activities in polytechnics and monotechnics across the country.

“In view of the unresolved issues and the Federal Ministry of Education’s lack of commitment to genuine dialogue, our NEC has resolved to issue this ultimatum. Failure to act within the window may compel us to withdraw services nationwide,” the union warned.

ASUP maintained that it remains open to dialogue but insisted that only concrete action on the listed demands would prevent an industrial crisis.